I have 3 overdrives. 92/1. 75/1, and .54/1. i can run 75 using the 75/1 and not hurt the engine. The engine makes 500lbs at 2200 and stays steady from there to 3500. In real world driving I will only use 3 speeds.

The tires are meant for the road. Running mud tires on the street is wrong. I doubt this thing will ever see 80mph in a controled setting. The .54 is just for lowering the rpm to keep the engine happy.

I have 3 overdrives. 92/1. 75/1, and .54/1. i can run 75 using the 75/1 and not hurt the engine. The engine makes 500lbs at 2200 and stays steady from there to 3500. In real world driving I will only use 3 speeds.

The tires are meant for the road. Running mud tires on the street is wrong. I doubt this thing will ever see 80mph in a controled setting. The .54 is just for lowering the rpm to keep the engine happy.

Why hasnt anyone invented a similar to a 2.5 rockwell in a 9" or similar axle housing. Imagine the ground clearance!! Beef up the housing and use bigger shafts maybe a 10.5 in ring gear? id love to see that.

Why hasnt anyone invented a similar to a 2.5 rockwell in a 9" or similar axle housing. Imagine the ground clearance!! Beef up the housing and use bigger shafts maybe a 10.5 in ring gear? id love to see that.

Why hasnt anyone invented a similar to a 2.5 rockwell in a 9" or similar axle housing. Imagine the ground clearance!! Beef up the housing and use bigger shafts maybe a 10.5 in ring gear? id love to see that.

The only thing you really get is driveshaft clearance of it being a top loader. Which its easy enough to do in a tru hi 9 or similar.

Why hasnt anyone invented a similar to a 2.5 rockwell in a 9" or similar axle housing. Imagine the ground clearance!! Beef up the housing and use bigger shafts maybe a 10.5 in ring gear? id love to see that.

They make that
The super rock jumpers use 14 bold centers with Rockwell outers

The person who is wanted for the murder of such people as Tony the Tiger and the Trix rabbit.
I know there is a cerial killer on the lose when i see a leperachan drowned to death in milk and is imprisoned in melted marshmelllow! beware all iconic cerial mascots! you may be next!

The person who is wanted for the murder of such people as Tony the Tiger and the Trix rabbit.
I know there is a cerial killer on the lose when i see a leperachan drowned to death in milk and is imprisoned in melted marshmelllow! beware all iconic cerial mascots! you may be next!

You aren't going to have any trouble with a 2" diameter shaft, even if its 4 ft long. Just build the thing as a weird hot rod and enjoy it. Its going to be too heavy and underpowered for a serious buggy but I think if you made a mash up of rat rod buggy out of medium duty truck parts, you'd be happy.

Moon buggies do that kind of offset with Ford 9s, getting around 40-44" shafts.

Called up CTM Told them 62". Got a great person on the phone(wish I got his name) who checked the equipment. CTM assured me the 2" shaft tapered with 16 splines can be made without issue at 62" long.

Doing the math again it should be between 56.25 - 59". That's figuring for a 1/4" flange, 1/4" wheel and 1/4" thick rotor(worst case). The 56.25 (just) works with a inch of horizontal space between the drive shaft and header at full compression. Once I get my hands on a chuck and lay out the bearings in a mock up housing I will get a better number with some dom shafts.
If I need to make it 71" I still can because my very lightweight wheel covers were designed to make the total width 72". They keep me from throwing roost onto others(like some inconsiderate people do) and can flip up, break down, and go behind the seat in a manner of minutes. The (easy to clean) wheel covers are one of the things I hope others copy from this build.

If I need to I will offset my engine 2 inches to gain some more bearing space. But I really do not want to unless I absolutely have no other choice. Doing so will cause u joint misalignment at the highest torque point between the aux trans and transfer case. Not a huge issue, and one I planned for with the 7" shaft size. Still, if I can avoid offsetting the engine and creating this weak link I would like to.

My goal for the mockup is 58"(.25 flange). That should be enough room to keep the bearings, happy and push the chuck far enough inside the wheel to give great clearance all around.

I know 2" axle shaft is overkill, increases rotating mass, and hurts acceleration. The whole axle is like that. But, the assurance that comes with the weight is worth it in my book.

My available craw ratios(with 40" tires) are
99(1stL)
54(2ndL) This is what will be used the most
33(1stM)
23(1stH)

My current aux transmission is one of the rare 3/1 low. I can find a 2/1 low one much easier if I feel it would be better suited. Those ratios are.
66(1stL) Most used
36(2ndL)
33(1stM) Useless except making a easy shift
23(1stH)

These can all be shifted on the fly.

Shifting from L to M to H requires double clutching. The aux trans does NOT have any synchros, pump, seals(it is cool how this works), and only generalized bearings. This makes it very reliable and able to handle tons of abuse.

My practical shift pattern is to leave the aux in direct and shift 2, 3, 4 like normal.
These ratios (including the full time .75 transfer case) are 2.68, 1.27, .75.
If I feel I will be at highway speeds(71+-) for a extended period I can place the aux trans in high(double clutch) to get the .54 ratio.
This keeps the engine close to peak torque from 0-71mph. Not to many people can say that. Sure I loose 21% of my torque when I shift at 75mph dropping my torque closer to 400lbs. That's why I wanted the 6.72 ratios so much.

If you take these ratios factor the 6.72 axle ratio and compare them to what many of you are running The torque values in many cases will be close if not better at high way speeds.

First, take the diameter of the tire and multiply by 3.14. That will give you the inches of circumference. A mile has 63,360 inches so divided that by the number of inches of circumference. In my case the tire is 40 inches in diameter X 3.14 = 125.6 inches. 63,360 divided by 125.6 =505.45 Revolutions per Mile.

The difference between 438 and 302 is 1.45. That means this truck needs 5.94 gear ratios to get the same amount of torque.

If you compare tire size to tire size(fair) and say they are running 40's.
70x4.1x.69x505.45/60=1668@70 (280)
This truck now needs 6.41 gears to have the same passing power. Good luck with that.

Forgetting highway speeds and focasing on the more practical shift speeds this thing really shines.

2/3 at 3000(20mph), 3/4 at 2500(35mph)4/4H at 3000(71mph).

As long as I keep it above 20mph I will not need to shift into 2nd. That means I can shift from 3/4 very fast going 20-70 quite fast.

This rig with these axles and larger wheels should weigh between 4500 and 4700. It is heavy for a buggy but still lighter then many trucks.

Considering this is a fully enclosed cab designed to slap a tree without crunching anything, has a spare tire, 24 gallons of propane, on board air, a massive radiator, most of the parts are 20-50 years old, has the sliding doors, is designed so I can walk away from a 38mph side, 47 rear, 42 front impact, (better then most new cars) multi side roll, multi endo, is designed not to rust through in any areas, and has very little aluminum 4700 is very lightweight.

Thanks for all the help. Sorry for the little rant above. I just had to put those things to rest once and for all.

7" shaft from the 2wd sm465 to the aux trans then another 7" shaft from the aux trans to the transfer case. It lets me remove the aux trans if it needs to be rebuilt/replaced and continue driving with the 2.68, 1.27, .75 ratios by using a single shaft.

It is a rare aux transmission so if it goes parts are going to need to be machined. It came out of a dump truck then was completely rebuilt then ran for 3k before I got it so I should be good. Still. it is good to plan for when stuff happens then be screwed and need to rent a uhaul to get back home(been there).